I recently had the chance to play War Mongrels, a real-time tactics game developed by Destructive Creations. As a fan of strategy games, I was excited to try out this World War II-themed game, and overall I was impressed with what I experienced.
Last updated on June 2nd, 2023 at 03:02 am
The game follows two soldiers, Manfred and Ewald, who find themselves behind enemy lines. The storyline is well-written, and I found myself invested in the characters and their mission. The game’s cutscenes and dialogue do an excellent job of conveying the horrors of war and the emotional toll it takes on the soldiers.
Graphically, War Mongrels looks fantastic. The game’s environments are detailed, and the character models and animations are top-notch. I particularly appreciated the little details, like how the soldiers’ uniforms would get dirty and torn after crawling through mud and barbed wire.
The gameplay is where War Mongrels really shines. The real-time tactics system is intuitive and easy to learn, but there’s still a lot of depth to it. I liked how I could switch between controlling both Manfred and Ewald or split them up and controlling them individually. The game also encourages players to be creative with their tactics, offering different paths and approaches to complete missions.
One aspect of the game that stood out to me was the AI. Enemies are intelligent and will actively try to outflank and surround you, making for some intense and challenging encounters. The game is also unforgiving – one wrong move can lead to the death of one or both of your soldiers. However, the checkpoints are fairly frequent, so I never found myself too frustrated with having to replay sections.
The game implements an intricate system for the enemy units’ fields of vision, which allows them to detect anything within their line of sight at their level. However, if shrubs or boxes obstruct their vision, players can use this to their advantage and have Manfred and Ewald crawl past undetected. Notably, each field of vision has a distance reference. Being too close to a soldier results in detection regardless of the player’s position, except if they find a disguise.
The diagonal lines that represent halfway out of the field of vision indicate that standing up in that area will draw the enemy’s attention, but crawling within that range can keep the player hidden. This level of detail makes the stealth mode gameplay both immersive and challenging.
While stealth mode is essential for moving around the maps, it’s not necessary to use it all the time. The sound design of explosions is intense and can also be used to mask any loud noises that the players may need to make. To plan their strategy, players can use the mouse to scout the area and break their objectives into smaller goals due to the multitude of enemy soldiers.
The game’s enemy soldiers also have a field of sound, where even if players are behind a box or a fence, making too much noise close to them will prompt them to investigate. This feature adds an extra layer of strategy and challenge to the game.
You also have the option to enter tactical mode in War Mongrels, which temporarily pauses the game and allows you to issue commands to both Manfred and Ewald. These commands can involve tasks such as taking out specific guards. However, this feature may lead to some frustration for players. Even with the polished edition, there may be instances where one of the soldiers will stand up instead of executing the intended action, or they may make noise and alert nearby enemies.
One minor complaint I have about the game is the controls, they are a bit tough to master on a controller. It took me a little while to get used, and I found the camera to be a bit finicky at times. However, once I got the hang of it, it wasn’t too much of an issue.
Overall, I highly recommend War Mongrels to fans of real-time tactics games. The game’s storyline, graphics, and gameplay make for an immersive and satisfying experience. While the controls may take a little getting used to, the game’s AI and challenging encounters more than makeup for it.